Japanese Destroyers Visit Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay in Historic Move

The two countries record another first in their burgeoning defense
relationship.

Two Japanese destroyers arrived Tuesday in a historic visit to Vietnam’s Cam
Ranh Bay which fronts the South China Sea.

As I mentioned in an earlier piece, Japanese officials had disclosed last
month that two Japanese warships would sail to the Philippines and on to
Vietnam, accompanied by a submarine arriving in Subic Bay (See: “Japanese
Submarine to Visit the Philippines Amid South China Sea Tensions”).

On Tuesday, two guided-missile destroyers from the Japan Maritime Self
Defense Force (JMSDF) – the Ariake and Setogiri – carrying 500 crew members,
made a port call at Cam Ranh Bay International Seaport in Vietnam. Japanese
officials have confirmed that the visit is the first of its kind.

At a welcome ceremony, Japan’s ambassador to Vietnam, Fukuda Hiroshi, read a
letter written by Japan’s Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani on the need to
preserve peace and stability in the South China Sea for the benefit of the
region and the world. Nakatani also praised the port of Cam Ranh, where Vietnam
inaugurated a new international facility capable of receiving foreign warships
in March (See: “Vietnam Unveils New Port Facility for Foreign Warships in Cam
Ranh Bay”).

At a press conference back in Tokyo, Nakatani also said that he expected
defense collaboration with Vietnam to grow and that Japan would work with other
major powers such as the United States to ensure peace and stability in the
South China Sea.

As I mentioned in a previous piece, while the move may appear to be a new
development, in has in fact been in the works for a while as Japan has sought
to boost defense ties with Vietnam, one of the more forward-leaning Southeast
Asian claimants in the South China Sea disputes, amid China’s growing
assertiveness there.

Last November, Nakatani and his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh had
already agreed during a meeting in Hanoi last November that Japanese vessels
would be allowed to make port calls in Cam Ranh Bay, a deep-water harbor in
central Vietnam alongside the South China Sea.